An Evening to Forget
by Fallenbelle2
Summary: All is not as it seems at William's bachelor party.
1. Chapter 1

Title: An Evening to Forget

Author: Fallenbelle

Rating: Teen for adult themes.

Summary: All is not as it seems at William's bachelor party.

Spoilers: 803-Glory Days

Notes: This is what happens when you decide that William needs to have an out-of-William experience with a healthy dose of angst. Don't hate me. This was inspired by Demosthenes23's treatment of the episode, but went in a very different direction.

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><p>She wasn't Julia, but William Murdoch couldn't deny that Anadia was a beautiful, highly desirable woman. He was undoubtedly in a perilous territory; he'd been chaste for so long, his wedding was so close, and instead of giving him the resolve that he would have hoped, it made it even more difficult to remain pure of thought and mind.<p>

Not that he'd ever done that good of a job remaining that pure of mind, but at least he'd remained physically chaste. Though he had been sorely tempted over the years, never had it been as difficult as it had been over the past few weeks. It was becoming more and more difficult to remain a gentleman and respect Julia as a woman who was his equal and fiancée, and while that had been challenging, at least Julia had never appeared to him in a state of dishabille, undulating to the music in front of him.

Although after tonight, he knew that he'd be fantasizing about her doing so.

Steadily drinking from the generous glass of rum George had poured him, he was both mesmerized and terrified at Anadia's body before him, her movements so graceful, intriguing and arousing. Self-consciously tugging his jacket down, he was thankful for the chair the Inspector had pushed him onto. As the blood from his head was rushing decidedly south, and with the affect the rum was having on him, there was no way he would have been able to remain steady on his feet.

Enraptured and uneasy at the same time, he barely noticed that someone just out of his peripheral vision was refilling his glass with yet another generous portion of the potent liquid; the cloying combination of the molasses and tang of alcohol unmistakable. He did not object.

Taking another sip, he felt a multitude of emotions- intrigue, arousal, and disgust. He couldn't look away from this gorgeous woman, performing a dance he'd only read about in exotic books, yet he chided himself for desiring this woman who was not and would never be his wife-she was merely an object of desire.

He was terrified that he would betray Julia, and he began to slightly tremble. His resolve was strong, but in a room full of men encouraging his sinful objectification of an extremely attractive woman who was more than willing to tempt him to throw all caution to the wind, he lost all confidence in his self-control.

Spellbound by the vision before him, and preoccupied by his own conflicting thoughts, he barely registered when someone took the glass from his hand, and Anadia stepped into his personal space, no longer just out of reach.

Slipping her smooth fingers beneath the collar of his starched white shirt, she placed herself in his lap, and expertly loosed his tie, her fingers cool against his feverish skin.

Suddenly, William was very afraid that his self-control would break. His heart rate accelerating so much he thought it would explode, he began to hyperventilate and his mind panicked.

He could hear the shouts of approval and catcalls from the men, but William was far from enjoying the turn of events now-he was quickly losing control of the situation and his body was betraying both his mind and Julia.

Exhaling sharply in grief, he looked towards the heavens. _Mother of God, please!_ He thought as his mind shut down and he gave himself over to his most primeval and basest of desires as Anadia removed his tie and wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips millimeters from his.

His last coherent thought was grief. He wasn't strong enough to stop this.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: An Evening to Forget

Author: Fallenbelle

Rating: Teen for adult themes.

Summary: William has a crisis at his bachelor party.

Spoilers: 803-Glory Days

Notes: So, I wanted William to have a bit of an out-of-William moment and do something foolish in chapter 1. However, his friends have his back. You can thank/blame Fralinger for this.

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><p>Just as her lips were to touch his, she flitted away as quickly and unexpectedly as she had arrived, twirling away in gossamer silk and some unknown fragrance. Like some sort of siren butterfly.<p>

He blinked. He still hated the damn things even if he wasn't afraid of them anymore.

At that moment the Inspector thumped him on the back with great gusto, rousing him from his trance. "Come on, me old mucker, let's get you some air, shall we?"

As he was led outside the tavern, and breathed in the fresh air untainted with cigar smoke, he began to regain control, and his breathing slowed-though his pulse still solidly pounded in his ears. William leaned against the wall, and took a moment to compose himself, his face an odd mixture of relief and pain.

"It's all right, Murdoch. You didn't betray her-just got a bit tempted is all."

William nodded, exhaling deeply, his thought processes returning to normal even if he was feeling lightheaded. No doubt the rum had played its part in this debacle.

"You all right, buggaluggs?" Brackenreid asked, concerned.

"I will be, sir. I just need a moment."

"Don't be too long. I'll make sure this Anadia spends the rest of the evening entertaining the other men-perhaps even Higgins. That should be good for a laugh."

William merely nodded. He'd come too close to breaking his promise of fidelity to Julia, a woman he loved more than life itself before he'd even had a chance to make that vow before God, and all his friends. He was thankful the Inspector had been looking out for him.

"Come in and join me for a cigar and scotch-none of this screech bollocks that Crabtree is peddling-you need something fit for a man."

Brackenreid studied William carefully, "It'll be all right, Murdoch," he softly added. "It's something of a relief to see that you're just as human as the rest of us," the Inspector continued with a chuckle.

"Undoubtedly all too human, sir," William agreed, nodding and staring down at the ground.

The Inspector nodded and went back into the tavern, giving William some space to regroup in private.

He was within days of having everything he had ever wanted, and yet he'd almost thrown it away like a fool. He didn't think that he could have ever dreamed of being untrue to Julia, yet he had still come terrifyingly close back in the tavern.

This was why he usually avoided drink, brothels, and gaming houses. Not because he hated the taste of it per se, or the relaxed feeling free of concern it brought, but that they reminded him that he was more than capable of becoming his father-that he was very much his son. It was not a pleasant thought.

He passed a few more minutes outside, until George tentatively stepped outside, also concerned, "Are you allright, sir?"

"I am, George. Is my presence missed yet?"

"Of course, sir. Well, a few have noticed. Most have been quite taken with Anadia, and well…

"Well, best step back inside before everyone notices my absence," making a move back to the entrance. He paused.

"Thank you, George-for organizing tonight. I do appreciate it," said William, making sure he made eye contact with the young man.

"Yes, well..." George blushed. "The others tried to convince me you wouldn't want such an affair, but I couldn't let it go unmarked."

"And, I'm very glad you did, George. Shall we?" he motioned back towards the tavern with his head, yet sensing the younger man was not yet finished.

"Sir, I uh, well, Anadia wasn't my idea-I was as surprised as you were, sir. I…I know how much Dr. Ogden means to you, and I would never…" George trailed off.

"I know, George."

Both men walked back into the tavern, and true to his word, the Inspector had made sure that Anadia focused her attentions on Higgins, his discomfort a great source of amusement for the other men.

William almost felt sorry for the man. Almost.

Better him than me, William thought.

The Inspector motioned him over to the bar, where a cigar and scotch waited for him.

"Enjoy it, Murdoch. Tonight's my watch," the Inspector interjected before William could object.

William realized that it was best to pick his battles, and acquiesced, taking a slow sip and wondered if he could make the drink last the rest of the night. But he looked at the cigar with distaste, and took only a few pulls to be polite, mostly ignoring the expensive tobacco.

It wasn't long before Anadia finished her set, and took her leave, much to William's relief, and for the first time all night, he began to relax, and enjoy the moment.

Spending the rest of the evening in the tavern with the men, laughing, and even playing a few games of darts, William concluded the evening at the bar by himself, sipping a fine single malt scotch, lost in thought.

The Inspector had been right-the taste had grown on him (though he'd never admit it), and as William reflected on the events of the evening, he knew he had narrowly averted disaster. While Anadia was beautiful, it was Julia he desired, whom he had wanted more than any other woman, longer than any other woman. He'd abstained from others though he'd certainly had the opportunity, yet he'd foolishly almost given into a substitute when he was so close to having the real thing.

Briefly he wondered if he'd ever be able to convince Julia to dance for him like that, and threw his drink back in a single gulp.

Grabbing his hat, he stumbled out of the tavern, and into the beautiful night. He had to find Julia. At once.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: An Evening to Forget

Author: Fallenbelle

Rating: T-Adult Themes

Summary: William finds Julia, but he's lost his tie.

Notes: Shout out to Demosthenes23 for suggesting a way out when I got stuck.

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><p>It was sometime after 1:00 am, and Julia had already been in bed asleep when she'd been startled awake by insistent pounding on her front door, immediately thinking that it must be an urgent medical call. Grabbing her dressing gown, she hurriedly put it on as she ran downstairs, calling out "Just a moment."<p>

She was already the talk of the neighborhood and she didn't need to add to it by waking her neighbors up at a late hour.

Without thinking, she opened the door, immediately remembering that William would be upset to know that she had opened the door without checking to see who it was first, to see that it was, in fact, William.

Well, this was a surprise.

"Do you often open the door for strange men, doctor?" he said, pushing his way inside and closing the door behind him with his foot, locking it behind him. She didn't realize that he was backing her up until her back hit the wall.

She realized immediately that this was not her normal, gentle William as she smelled the alcohol on his breath, and saw the hunger in his eyes. She wasn't sure how to deal with this William, dark and unkempt.

She was reluctant to admit it, but it both thrilled and disconcerted her at the same time.

So, it seems the bachelor party whose existence he'd denied had been tonight. Normally she would have pretended to be shocked and outraged and even faux-chastise him, but it seemed that he was too inebriated and in no mood to pick up on subtle banter.

Not that she was in the mood for it either just after 1:00 am herself.

She also doubted that he'd even known about it anyway-the party had more than likely been planned by George and the Inspector and was a surprise to him.

Still, it must have been quite the event, as his customarily proper appearance was anything but, and she'd never seen him so disheveled outside of cheating death.

Gone was her fastidiously presented gentleman and in his place was a dark, mysterious man who smelled of horses, alcohol, cigars, and if she had to be honest, sex. His scent was hyper-masculine, and it aroused her. She'd long been attracted to the way he smelled, but tonight, it was tenfold. She'd long known that a rough masculinity lay just beneath the surface of his polished exterior, but to be confronted with its existence was disorienting and thrilling at the same time.

Given that it had been almost an entire day since he'd shaven, stubble covered his face and chin, adding to this dark and mysterious side to his personality. His vest, along with the top three buttons of his shirt, was unbuttoned and her eyes drawn to the expanse of chest hair visible to her. She'd seen it before, but never in this context. He was healthy this time.

It was then, she noticed that his tie was conspicuously absent, and if she suspected that something was afoot, this confirmed it. She'd only been in contact with a healthy, tieless William once before-the evening they had drunk absinthe in the park and where they had almost made love in the grove.

He was standing in her entry, sans neckwear, the top of his chest deliciously exposed and available to taste if she could be so bold.

If William had decided to throw caution to the wind, so could she. She went for his exposed neck, licking it and gently nipping at it with her teeth before he recovered from the initial shock and fought her for control-using his superior height and weight to his advantage to further pin her against the wall.

There was no doubting why he was there, and while they had agreed to abstain until their marriage, she simply didn't care at that moment.

It appeared that he didn't either.

A William she'd only fantasized about was here in her entry way, trying to have his way with her, and who was she to try to stop him?

If anything, she was going to encourage it, moving his hands to her uncorseted waist, signaling to him that she was naked beneath her silk nightwear.

Taking the hint, he moaned into her mouth, and began to divest her of her nightwear, untying the purple silk peignoir that quickly found itself in a heap at their feet. His jacket, vest, and shirt also joined it.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

"William, where's your tie?"

"Mmm?" He pulled back, simply stared at her for a moment, and with a lascivious smirk on his face, closed the distance again, and recaptured her lips in a most insistent kiss, his hands quickly settling on her hips, subtly pulling her nightgown up with his fingers, bunching the material there.

His deflection of the question didn't go unnoticed, but she let it go for the moment. She gave into the sensations on her skin, enjoying his calloused fingers as they caught on her skin and gasped when she realized that he'd managed to work her nightdress up past her hips, and was attempting to pull it over her head when the phone rang.

William paused enough to look at her just briefly before returning his attentions to not so subtly removing her nightgown while nibbling on her neck, his stubble dragging across her tender skin.

It was a good thing her wedding dress was high necked, because there would undoubtedly be evidence of this evening on her throat.

The phone stopped ringing, and was silent for only a moment before it began it's insistent intrusion again, stopping again for a moment before ringing a third time.

"William," Julia pleaded, "it must be important."

He groaned and just as he pulled away, there was an insistent pounding on the door and a voice called out.

"Doctor Ogden, it's George Crabtree. It's urgent-we can't find Detective Murdoch. He's been drinking heavily and he's not himself."

"I don't believe this…it's some sort of conspiracy, I swear…" William whispered before Julia shushed him with a finger to his lips

"Just a moment, Constable." Julia called out, and decided to answer the phone first, as the caller was clearly not going to be deterred.

It was Thomas Brackenreid-apparently William had been drinking heavily, was not himself, and had vanished from his bachelor party when no one was looking. He had not returned to his boarding house.

Tell me something I don't know, Julia thought. Still, she knew that the Inspector was highly concerned and would soon send out a search party if she didn't reassure him.

Deciding that the Inspector would be discreet, she informed him of William's current presence in her home.

There was a pause followed by a hearty chuckle. "Of course he is. I'm assuming you can handle him, Doctor?" he asked.

Assuring him that indeed she could, she bade the Inspector goodnight.

"Julia!" William stared at her in shock.

"William, they're clearly worried about you. Would you have rather they turn the city upside down looking for you?" Julia shot back as she walked over to the door, opening it, and remembering too late her exposed state, giving the young constable an eyeful.

Her nightgown had fallen back over her legs, but it was still unfastened, exposing a healthy amount of décolletage, and no doubt that George had begun to piece together the evidence as his eyes trailed over her body to the pile of purple silk also known as her peignoir still pooled on the floor along with half of William's clothes.

Julia snorted, and opened the door fully, letting the young man visually verify William's safety.

"Julia!" William protested again, as George saw William's state of undress and he quickly added two and two together, his eyes open wide upon realizing that he had indeed caught them _in flagrante delicto_.

George's eyes opened wide, and he stumbled backwards, hands up, and clearly embarrassed at the moment he'd intruded upon. So uncomfortable and intent upon a hasty departure, he stumbled right off her porch, and cut his head open.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: You didn' t think I was going to let them get together this close to the wedding, did you? Anyway, it is done! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for your kind reviews and thoughts on my first multi-chapter piece.

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><p>An hour later, with his head sewn up and making sure that the young man hadn't suffered a concussion, George took up residence on Julia's settee with Julia next to him and William sat across from them. Julia insisted that they both drink coffee laced with a mild tincture of opiates to take the edge off their headaches.<p>

George for his part provided a rambling commentary on the evening's events, blathering on about Anadia in great detail and how she had had quite the effect on William with her exotic dance routine that was unlike anything the men had ever seen. He even explained to Julia in exacting detail the exact shade of saffron and marigold her costume had been, the revealing cut (complete with hand gestures to show where the costume was and was not), the gold coin jewelry that jingled most enchantingly, and the exotic fragrance that he just couldn't place, though he was most curious to know what it was, although his aunts could probably place it.

Julia, for her part, had encouraged the young man to talk further, asking pertinent questions such as had William embraced the moment once he'd gotten over the initial shock (indeed he had), what had happened to his tie (Anadia removed it while sitting in his lap), just how long had Anadia sat on William's lap (not very long), and finally, had William enjoyed that as well?

William held his breath. He was going to kill George. As a master detective, he believed that he might just know how to commit the perfect crime, and hide the body where no one could ever find it.

To his credit, George glanced at him before answering the question.

"No, Doctor Ogden, he did not. He seemed quite pained, truth be told. The Inspector and I were most concerned," he replied.

Thank you, George, William thought as he exhaled. Maybe the overly excitable young man had earned a reprieve yet.

But why were they talking about him as though he weren't there? The only concession to his presence were the occasional glances they gave him as they continued their animated conversation about how Anadia and her silk scarf moved as one in the most beguiling way.

It was around 3:30 am when George took his leave with assurances that no one at the station would know about what he'd seen. At least there was that.

After having seen George to the door, Julia returned to the study and stood at the door, looking at William while smiling her evil grin at him as he squirmed under her gaze. He closed his eyes, waiting for the anger.

It never came, instead she just laughed at him, and crossed the room, sinking onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.

For the first time all night, he truly relaxed, and closed his eyes, reveling in her embrace as he told her about the exotic dance from the Middle East, and the effect it had on him and how surprised he'd been at his reaction.

She merely nodded and kissed his eyelids when he was finished recounting his recollection of the night's events to her.

"William, you're under tremendous stress right now. You won't say as much, but I know you're anxious about satisfying me physically as well as providing for me, though I wish you wouldn't be," she murmured, stroking his brow and placing feather light kisses upon it.

"It was Darcy who could never compare to you, William, and our marriage never really stood a chance because of it, and I will regret that decision for the rest of my life-for the pain it caused us both as well as Darcy's death. But, I've put that behind me, and I ask that you do the same. There's no room for three people in a marriage, trust me, I know," she emphasized.

"Julia," he murmured, taking her lips in a reverent kiss hoping that it conveyed the depths of his feelings for her. She had become too good at reading him like an open book, and given his disinclination and/or ineptitude at verbalizing his feelings, this was probably a good thing.

However, he could feel a lot of the tension he'd been carrying around evaporate from his body, and for the first time since he'd realized the uncomfortable truths surrounding their engagement, he relaxed.

"As for money, what's mine will soon be yours as well. You always make me feel like the most adored woman in the world, so please at least let me take care of you in that way. I want to do that-please say you'll allow me," Julia asked, taking his hands in hers in kissing it as he often did with hers.

Sighing deeply, and putting his traditional views of man as provider aside, he nodded. "But you'll let me share in the costs, won't you? I still want to contribute-I don't relish the thought of being a kept man."

"Of course, William. Although I dare say, I do find that thought most intriguing. It would be your husbandly duty to provide for my wifely needs," she teased.

Snorting, he kissed her again. "Anytime, almost Mrs. Murdoch, your wish is my command," he pledged, kissing her. "On a somewhat related note, I was hoping we could discuss our honeymoon," he posited, tracing the neckline of her nightgown under her peignoir, noting how her breath hitched as he did so. "I know I said I wanted to stay local, but given recent events, I've reconsidered. I'd like to go somewhere where they can't find us."

He didn't need to say who 'they' were. She knew he meant the well-meaning men of Station House #4 who had an uncanny ability to interrupt them just as things were getting interesting.

"I think that's a splendid idea, Mr. Murdoch. I'll take care of that this morning, if you'd like. Perhaps New York? It is a large city, with lots to see and do, and we can revel in the anonymity it provides."

"Indeed," he whispered, pulling her tightly against him, settling back into the comfort of the chair as they both ardently demonstrated their passion with both their lips and their hands (above their clothes) before he had to return to Mrs. Kitchen's for breakfast and freshening up for the day.


End file.
